Prep Football: Boylan’s defense sparks victory

“That was really the game right there,” Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. “That changed the tide.”

Sciame gave credit to Boylan’s 17-10 second-round Class 6A victory to Nico Flores, who ran down fullback Tyler Pennington after a 46-yard gain to save a touchdown. Cary-Grove settled for a field goal and a 3-0 halftime lead.

“That was huge. That was a game-changer right there,” Sciame said. “Nico has stepped up all year and led us to victory.”

Flores’ play kept Boylan’s deficit to three even though Boylan had only 32 yards of offense in the first half.

“At halftime guys were down. I tried to fire them up,” Sciame said. “It was like a zero-zero game. A field goal is not going to beat anybody at this level of the playoffs.”

But a touchdown could have. Sciame prevented that with a third-and-goal interception that he returned to the Cary-Grove 32 on the second play of the fourth quarter. That kept Boylan ahead 14-10.

The pass was deflected at the line, as was an Ian Riggs interception late in the first half.

“Those interceptions should be credited to our line,” Sciame said. “They got through and deflected it. It just happened to fall into my arms.”

Demry Croft awakened Boylan’s moribund offense in the third quarter with two drives into the teeth of a strong wind. Croft was 6-for-7 for 69 yards on the first drive, which featured a 21-yard pass on third-and-13, a 27-yarder on third-and-8 and a 7-yard TD pass to Nick Nalewanski to put Boylan in front for good, 7-3.

After an exchange of punts, Croft ran twice for 31 yards and threw a 22-yard screen pass to Nicholas Pumilia on a drive Zack Mathews capped with a 4-yard run to make it 14-3.

“I was a little upset with myself at halftime,” Croft (11-for-23 for 101 yards, plus 51 yards rushing) said. “I had to settle down a little bit, let the offensive line do what they do — keep the pressure off — and let the receivers make plays.

“In the playoffs, when you have turnovers and penalties and don’t execute, you are collecting your equipment,” Cary-Grove’s Seaburg said.

Boylan won two close shootouts this year when Hononegah and Belvidere North scored 34 points. But this was a return to traditional Boylan football, with the Titans winning with defense in the playoffs. They held the Trojans (7-4) to 259 yards on 58 plays and forced those three turnovers.

“It’s real fun,” Sciame said of winning with defense. “We’re just going to keep moving on, keep playing strong.”